Dmitri Shostakovich

High school (ages 12+)
Art & Creativity

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/dmitri-shostakovich

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Dmitri Shostakovich born?September 25, 1906
2. When did Dmitri Shostakovich die?August 9, 1975 (age 68)
3. Where was Dmitri Shostakovich born?Saint Petersburg, Russia
4. Who was Dmitri Shostakovich?Dmitri Shostakovich was a Russian composer born in 1906 who wrote many famous symphonies, concertos, and other pieces of music.
5. Why was his opera "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk" cancelled?The Communist Party, especially Stalin, denounced the opera, and it was withdrawn from performance.

Soviet Union: A federal socialist state in Northern Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991, characterized by a communist government and centralized control.
Zhdanov Doctrine: A Soviet cultural policy in the late 1940s that promoted socialist realism and condemned 'formalism' and Western artistic influences.
Ambivalent Tonality: Musical harmony that is not clearly in a major or minor key, creating a sense of uncertainty or tension.